


Contract With a New Moon

by EternalKing



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, RWBY
Genre: Contract Consequences, False Noble Phantasms and Skills, Odd Powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-01-26 20:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21380095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalKing/pseuds/EternalKing
Summary: As Beacon falls, the broken Moon becomes whole as the balances shifts favors toward's one who guides humanity's future. In a world full of fighters, Hakuno Kishinami doesn't have to fight for them, all the Ruler has to do is offer them a contract. But all gifts come with a price.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by The Devil You Don't by AMinorGlitch, but with a twist.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

She asked one last question to her soon to be killer. Perhaps Pyrrha was naive to think she could defeat the older woman. In the end she was outmatched and outpowered.

"Yes."

A simple answer.

So this was her fate.

She was disappointed in herself. She felt regret. So much regret. That she couldn't be with her team. That she didn't make more friends. That she wasted her life training, isolating herself from others in the process and as a result. She should have never tried to fight this woman, yet she felt it was her duty to do so...

Cinder Fall raised her arms. A bow of black glass appeared in her hands, the string already drawn back. The arrow meant to kill her appeared a moment later.

Pyrrha was never one to hate, but she hoped with all her heart that the monster before her wouldn't be alive to hurt anyone else.

The fingers holding the string released.

The arrow flew.

But it never came.

The moment stretched.

It still never came.

The arrow hung in the bow nearly frozen. Cinder Fall stood unmoving. Even the flames around them stood silent and like a wallpaper.

The world had stopped and gained a blue and greenish tint to it as parts of the world fizzled like static on an electronic screen.

She tried to move and failed.

Even her eyes couldn't shift. She stared at her killer unable to do anything else. All she could think of was her regrets. She didn't know anything about that Polendina girl, but all she knew was that anyone would have died from what happened. For all she knew, she DID kill someone. She wondered what would have happened if she fled with Jaune. She was a strong warrior, but in the end all she could think of was that she was a foolish girl always trying to win fights for no reason other than to win.

"You're rather lucky you know. Most people die without a chance to save themselves. In fact, people _have_ died without having been saved." A voice called out to her. She still couldn't move.

The voice was stoic. Calm. It spoke like that of a being from a higher position than her. It was...unimpressed. "Fighting to save others is admirable, but dying in the process saves no one. In the end, you've saved no lives tonight, with your death nearly pointless, only serving to help an enemy you don't even understand. Without a single reason to fight, you would have lost even with the full power of a maiden on your side." Shame began to fill her as the voice spoke. Was she really so helpless this night?

"Hmph. And this talk about destiny. Certainly some things are meant to happen, but your life matters so little to the world that it cares not if you lived or died." This time, Pyrrha felt ashamed from how it spoke of her life. True, for all her infamy as the Invincible Girl, she had done nothing more than win a few tournaments and put her face out for money.

'I see. In the end, I've wasted my life...'

"Idiot, I never said that much. Though you definitely wasted your life coming here on a suicide mission."

'Huh?'

"Humans are free to live however they want. They live and they die for themselves. Only a select few can live in such a way that they impact the world and the people within. You are not one of them, but it's not as if you have done nothing either. You inspired young warriors to reach your level. Your leader, Jaune, would be roadkill in a forest. Lie Ren would have needed to take care of Nora alone, unable to cope with some of his own issues on his own time. Nora would not have a girl to whom she could speak of on her feelings for Ren. You helped train team RWBY, who would be at the center of the conflict you thoughtlessly joined. You life had done no good tonight, but the same could not be said for before that."

With that, the weight on her shoulders was slightly lightened. But it still didn't change the fact that...

'This is it for me...'

"That's right. You lost the battle, so it's only natural that the loser loses their life. But what would you give up to live? Humans are naturally [greedy]/[foolish] after all. Your strength? Your beauty? Your heart? Some of your heart's desires can be achieved solely by staying alive, but it'll have its price."

Her mind was a storm as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

'I...I...'

"When it comes down to it, Battle isn't as glamorous as we want it to be. Sometimes it simply comes down to whose desire to live and succeed is greater. Sometimes even that doesn't matter. If you want to die here, it won't particularly matter to me."

'Then...why are you talking to me?'

"I just so happen to know a thing or two about being helped and helping others. What I see and know of you is pitiful, and helping someone like that is natural for me."

Pyrrha could only think of the offer warily, but was in a rush, as the arrow's feather was now off the bow. 'Will you tell me more?'

"I'll grant you the strength to defeat this woman, but the strength will test your bonds and your willpower. That stolen power of yours will also return to its predecessor."

'That sounds...remarkably simple. I thought you would have asked for something else based on your earlier words.' She couldn't help but bring herself to think.

"Why bother taking your beauty when you care nothing for it? Besides, your friends and your crush care nothing for it. As for your strength, you'll need it to survive tonight and the coming battles. So I'll be taking your heart, just not in the way you'll expect."

Hearing that made Pyrrha conflicted. Most stories of people who 'made a deal with the devil' so to speak, never ended well for the people involved.

As if knowing that, the voice sighed. "Oh calm down. The side effects will only affect you during battle. Any other time and you won't have to worry at all. If it's about the Maiden power, Fall will also lose hers so I can return it. You won't be breaking the trust placed in you, in fact you would be saving a life."

'Then...I...' Pyrrha knew this may be unwise, accepting help from a voice, like the heroes and gods of the stories she grew up on. This might not end well at all, just like those stories. But if she didn't, she would just die anyways.

But no human truly wants to die. They're greedy. Selfish. They wish for their happiness above all else-

"Pyrrha Nikos, do you accept this contract?"

-That's why,

'I accept.' She would do anything to live.

"Good. Then it's time for you to battle once more. But this time you have a reason. That reason is to live. Honor, Justice, such Tangible concepts do not move you, but instinct will. Release your rage and grapple the future you desire without reserve."

/\/\/\/\/\/\\-\\-\\-\\-\/\/

Penny opened her dazed eyes, not realizing that they had closed.

"Huh...? Where...am...I...?" A blue sea of numbers and stars stared at her.

"A space that only those with souls can enter." A soothing calm voice spoke to her.

"Somewhere only those with souls can enter?" She quietly repeated, pondering on the words as she felt oddly lighter upon hearing them.

"Unfortunately you will soon perish from here. This isn't the afterlife, merely a place where souls can convene separate from the body."

"Ah! That's right! Miss Nikos..." she thought back to her fight. Feeling sadness at how her opponent would have to deal with the consequences, and saddened that she would not see her dear friends anymore.

"How would you feel if I told you I could return you to your friends and your father? This isn't the end for you yet. It's why I brought you here." The voice propositioned her.

"I would feel elated of course! But I find myself just filled with questions! Who are you? How and why would you bring me back?"

"I'm just a nobody who knows a thing or two about dying. As for how to bring you back, you would be granted a body of course. As for the why, it goes hand and hand with who I am, besides, there are many threats that fill the world, and your 'death' was the final straw necessary for the enemies hidden in the dark to overrun Vale with Grimm."

She instinctively gasped in horror, not realizing it. "That's horrible! Please tell me I can return and save my friends and the people of Vale!"

"Eager to help aren't you." The voice said amused. "Well, this will have its price. I don't intend on just bringing you back to Remnant, but I can give you your dearest wish deep in your heart."

"My deepest wish?" She said confused.

"Of course. I can give you a human body to match that human soul of yours."

Rather than make her happy, that just confused her more. Was that even possible? She assumed that she would be brought back in her robotic body.

"Here's my contract to you. In return being granted the human body you desire so much, the body will enter a period of pain once a month to continuously remind you of your decision, and you will sacrifice what all humans have, their freedom. In serving me in place of your creators, you will be granted the tools to save your friends from the horrors that await them and experience that which a robot body will never grant you."

Logically Penny knew she should give this plenty of thought. She was taught to be a weapon of Atlas after all, so she couldn't just go and give away her loyalty...

But she wanted to live. She trusted the voice's words, knowing there was an afterlife for her was nice to know, but there was just SO many things that she still wanted to experience. She still wanted to make friends with people around her. To live like a normal girl and not- not a weaponized human.

And she trusted the voice. Surely if they were cruel they would have left her alone, letting nature run its course over Vale, but they weren't. Her observations, no, her instincts, were telling to...to...

"I graciously accept!"

"Then live Penny Polendina. With true flesh and blood as your vessel, let loose your immature soul and experience a mortal's life until its end."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sun froze.

Or rather, he was frozen.

He stared down the atlas mechs and Grimm that he was facing with his team and other hunters.

They were ALL frozen, stopped as if someone had hit the pause button on reality.

No, that wasn't quite right. It looked like they were moving in millimeters.

"Sun Wukong. You have a gift that many do not. You follow your instincts and your heart perfectly, and endear yourself to those you meet easily, yet you do not have strength to protect others. In battle, you falter and listen to your impulses when you should be following your instincts." A wise voice lectured him.

'What the-?'

"You are good-meaning and well-intentioned, but one who fights carefree will not live for long. Look around you Sun Wukong, and see your situation with your own eyes."

Unable to question the voice, he did so.

This situation...it looked even worse frozen. Everyone was dirtied and injured, exhaustion laid clear in their eyes and stances. They were outnumbered already, but how many more would come while they exhausted themselves further?

The thought sent a shock through him and if felt as if he tasting ash.

"You see. You understand. Observation and understanding are greater allies than one would expect. Accept my contract, and you will find yourself capable of helping anyone simply if you put your mind to it."

'I don't really get what you're about...but basically you're offering to help me out right?! Then let's do it!'

"Then be granted the patience needed to temper your impulses Sun Wukong, and release your inner nature toward others."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cardin groaned in pain. His gut was aching. _Hard_.

He gripped it with one hand as the other used his mace to steady himself as he hid in an alleyway.

The world froze in his minute of rest.

"Cardin Winchester. Your team will die without your leadership."

"Who the hell are you!?"

"I'm someone willing to give you a second chance despite your horrible personality and beliefs. You see now the horrors of Grimm. In comparison, your problems with Faunus are childish."

He didn't say anything and scowled at the harsh words.

"Why did you say my team would die?'

The voice reprimanded him. "Fool. What do you expect them to do against a horde of Grimm and little back up? You were wise enough to know your limits, yet not enough to know that a castle will fall without all it's pillars."

A dark feeling gripped his chest. He hadn't wanted to leave them for even a second. But his strength was failing him against the unending horde, and he left thinking it would allow his team to focus on each other.

"You are indeed a fool Cardin Winchester. But even a fool can grow to be better. Take my contract, and your team will live. And you will find yourself paying the debt you hold over your neck."

'I'll do it! Just let me move so I can get to them!'

"Then let loose what little virtue you hold within you and protect what you hold close to your chest. And do your best not to die."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

She opened her eyes in pain. Her head bleeding from a hard hit defending a civilian.

'Huh, the throbbing is gone?'

Then she noticed that nothing was moving. 'W-wha-?'

She wanted to freak out, yet she didn't have the energy for it either.

"Nebula Violette. You are vulnerable to the ultimate end. You and your team may very well perish here in your defense of others." A voice said to her soothingly.

'I-! What's-?' She was confused and scared. The frozen Grimm that had just batted her aside stared at her.

"The situation should be obvious to you. Soon, you and your comrades will fall in the defense of others. But I can change that. For a price."

She looked at the Grimm, seconds away from her, and her team, all tired but still fierce.

She didn't need to hear any more.

There were still civilians to save.

'I accept!'

"Then fight for your life Nebula Violette, let your blood boil and release your anger."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

'H-huh? Where the hell am I?'

"Brawnz Ni, you and your teammates are in quite a horrible position. Along with dozens of other citizens, you are being carried away by grimm. Soon, you will all perish."

That made Brawnz remember everything that was happening the last few minutes. Damnit, they were trying to fight back to give the people a chance to board the ships away from Vale but...'Shit!' It couldn't end like this, could it?

"Are you prepared to give something in return for power? Power that will win battles? Power that will earn you respect? This power will save you, for a price."

Brawnz didn't give it much thought. He had a duty to his team and the people. He wasn't a strict type of guy, and could often be gullible or too trusting of others, but he always gave a hundred percent of effort. He didn't even register that he would gain respect, as he wanted to be the type of person others can respect, no, right now, all that was on his mind was defeating the disaster in front of him.

'Yes! Please, just let me save them!' He begged. He didn't want his team or those people to die. He didn't want to die, and he didn't want to fail.

"Then be granted the strength you seek Brawnz Ni. Release your determination and obtain what is necessary for your goals."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That night, in Vale, multiple eyes re-opened fiercely as the moon was repaired, unnoticed by those same people.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Posting from phone since my Internet is fucked. Enjoy and comment to give me motivation homies.

CWaNM2

Ruby had no idea what was happening. 

One second she had just landed onto the remains of the tower witnessing Pyrrha, of all people, kneeling as that older transfer student shot at her. In that brief second she felt a pit of utter horror and despair that she couldn't remember ever feeling before. 

And then all of a sudden Pyrrha had thrown herself at the transfer student in a red dress with a ferocity she had only seen in Grimm before. She carried her shield on her arm like usual, but she attempted to crush the other woman's skull with it, not fighting with the calculated movements of her usual style and instead wasteful and wild movements with rage. The arrow that was sticking out of her foot wasn't stopping her at all. 

Worst of all, Pyrrha ignored Ruby's attempts to get her attention. As if she didn't care or couldn't hear for her shouts. 

She felt hurt that Pyrrha would do such a thing, but it was as if she hadn't realized what she actually did. Her attention was laser focused on Red Dress. 

Red Dress in response was leaping around doing her best not to be too close to Pyrrha, a challenge as the girl was using her semblance at full power, constantly ramming small gears into Red Dress and obstructing her bow shots and fire blasts. 

"Why won't you simply stay down!" Red Dress yelled angrily. 

"Raaaarrrgggghhh!" Pyrrha just roared as she attempted to crush her target's skull. 

Ruby shook her head. Whatever was going on with Pyrrha, it didn't matter. It was Ruby's duty to help her! She lifted up Crescent Rose and started shooting, forcing the fire blasts to stop in order to hyper focus defend against her bullets. 

"You children are insistent on getting in my way aren't you!?" Red Dress slightly rose her voice, but returned to being collected. Pyrrha bashed her fist and shield into the definitely-not-an-aura-shield again and again, forcing Red Dress to slide back. 

"Shut up and die yourself!" Pyrrha punched and punched. 

Ruby wished she had enough juice in her to use her semblance again, but with the energy she's used already, she couldn't be sure she'd be able to use it and make it behind Red Dress. There wasn't much room to maneuver up here either. With Pyrrha's movements, even if she went off slightly to the side, she couldn't absolutely positively be sure she'd be able to shoot without hitting her friend. 

"Why so angry? You've already accepted your destiny. You and little red over there are only prolonging the inevitable." The woman continued to talk nonsense. Ruby didn't get this woman's problem, but she spoke like Roman Torchwick and Cardin mixed together. Basically, as if she knew everything and condescending. 

"I don't want to hear you sprout your shit!" Pyrrha said viciously. Ruby would have gasped if the situation weren't so serious. As it was, Ruby could understand why Pyrrha was losing it. 

As she thought that, the whole tower rumbled in response to Pyrrha's words....and tipped over like Team RWBY's bunk beds after their second day. 

Red dress shot fire from her hands and tried to fly away in her free fall, but Pyrrha completely refused to allow her to gather her composure, as more bits and pieces shot towards her and struck her body. She was mostly uninterrupted until a chalkboard sized metal gear slammed into her. 

Pyrrha crashed into the ground shield first, before rushing toward the initial cloud of smoke where the other woman crashed. 

As for Ruby, luckily Pyrrha's semblance hadn't done much but slightly pull the debris that she used to step down as her landing strategy. It dropped her closer to them, so even though she had to use up some bullets for safety she couldn't really complain. 

"Pyrrha?!" She called out. There was a lot of dust, and not the ammo kind, but the 'makes things hard to see' kind. 

"Eep!" She was forced to cover her eyes and step back as a explosion of flames push back the dust and reveal Pyrrha holding her ground against the flames with her shield. 

The sight made her look on in wonder before a quaking roar took her attention. She swung her head back to see the Grimm dragon flying towards them. 

"Oh god!" She sped over as quickly as she could to Pyrrha's back. "Pyrrha! We have a giant dragon coming after us-! We really got to move!" 

Pyrrha shrugged away her hands as much as she could as the flames concentrated onto one point:her shield. "No! I have to finish her now!" 

She made the same sound Weiss usually did whenever she had to deal with Yang's jokes and jumped off to the side, shooting Crescent Rose at the woman and get her to just STOP. 

But her perfectly aimed shots were blocked by a wall a fire that kept the woman out of her sight, leading Ruby to recoil jump to the other side and proceed firing when something unexpected happened. 

From behind Red Dress, a wave of green energy slammed into the woman and shattering her aura. 

She struggled to get up only for Pyrrha to lift her up with one hand and slam a shield into her skull when the black haired woman was suddenly inside of a blue sphere with numbers flying around the surface and it's insides, before disappearing completely in the same second. 

Uh, what? 

What? 

WHAT!? 

"RAAAGH-!" Pyrrha screamed out in anger. 

"Where did she go!? She can't have just disappeared!?" Ruby said as she appeared next to Pyrrha. 

"Don't worry friends, Cinder Fall has been appropriately detained and will not be causing us further trouble. And may I say, I'm glad to see you both relatively unharmed." 

Huh?

That voice was instantly recognized by the two of them, it was slightly deeper than how they remembered but-

They looked over to see a girl with orange hair that went below her waist and curled inwards. She wore black stocking that went above her thighs and ended below a short combat dress that was white at the top and black at the bottom with small green frills. Her eyes were covered by a green visor and connected to a floating spiked jetpack that doubled as slim armor for her arms and chest. In her black gloved hands were two sleek rifles of sorts. 

"N-no way-Pen-ny is that-!" Ruby stumbled over her words and her eyes blurred as they felt wet. 

"Yes, it's me Penny! I'm so relieved to see you okay!" The visor separated into two and sunk back behind her head to reveal bright green eyes. 

Ruby jumped onto Penny and trapped her in a hug as word vomit came out of her mouth like the time Jaune first came to Beacon. "HowareyouhereareyouokaywhatisthatweaponyouhaveBoobsandwhyareyousosquishy-!"

"Y-you're okay?" Behind her was a kneeling Pyrrha. So shocked by the appearance of the girl she 'killed', she was snapped out of her rage and her conscious mind became coherent again. 

"Hello Miss Nikos. Please don't feel guilty about what happened to me. That wasn't your fault, but rather the fault of our enemies who clouded your eyes. I understand you may have questions about who I am, but I believe we have a bigger problem." 

"H-Huh? What problem?" Ruby asked. 

"That problem." She nonchalantly pointed behind them and they saw the dragon Grimm fly towards them at a car's speed.

"Ungh. I don't think I'll be able to move much anymore unfortunately." Pyrrha stumbled on her shot foot as she turned around completely. 

"We aren't leaving you behind so don't ask!" Ruby stated as she reloaded in hopes it would work. 

"Ruby! I'm fully combat ready! If you and miss Nikos can distract the Grimm dragon for two minutes, I'll be able to unleash an attack to destroy it!"

"R-right!" Ruby forced out. She wasn't looking forward to doing that alone. 

"I'm sorry Ruby." Pyrrha started to talk as the Grimm landed. "I won't be much help with this leg."

"Don't worry Pyrrha! I got this! I think." She ended uncoolly. In her defense, that was a very big dragon. She stared it down, and it stared back as it slowly inched towards them. 

"Miss Nikos, if I can advise you, HE said your semblance will be much easier to manipulate, but you must be careful or you will find yourself lost into the battle as you have against Miss Fall. You must allow yourself to follow our words or you will only harm yourself as you fight." Penny gave instructions to Pyrrha for some reason, and Ruby had the distinct feeling she was missing something as the orange haired girl's eyes were re-covered by the visor. 

Pyrrha closed her eyes. "Okay...okay. I can do that." 

"Alright Pyrrha! Penny!" She called out to them. "Let's do this!" 

Pyrrha flung her hand forward, sending waves of shrapnel that ultimately didn't do much toward the dragon at first. But Ruby noticed that the waves she could manipulate grew over time. The dragon swung its wings trying to knock the projectiles away. 

"Now send all of it to the right eye!" Penny shouted as she spotted an opening through her visor. 

The dragon's head swung back in pain as it's right eye was replaced with gritty metal. 

She took the opening rushed to the dragon, swiping it with her scythe in a useless hit. It's head moved quickly to nip at her, only for metal rubble to slam it back. 

'Oh man it's skin is too dense!' She thought as she ran to its back to its tail, slicing along the way. 

She felt a trickle of uselessness, but pushed it back and continued to slice. Who knows, maybe she'd find a softer spot. 

The dragon stood to get her off its back, forcing her to jump off. It roared as the metal in it's eye pushed deeper as much as it could, as Pyrrha ran out of ammo for her semblance. 

It turned and snarled at Ruby, it's attention still on her. 

'Uh oh.' Ruby ran with her back towards the dragon, hoping to lose it in the rubble, when she looked back, its body was stretched out and its jaws were just behind her hood. 

"Eep!" She panicked and recoil jumped, shooting inside its mouth to get away. 

It growled, and its jaws snapped shut as it followed, ignoring Penny and Pyrrha. 

'That's good right? I think that good!' She thought to herself. 

Just then, a wave of ice shot from the ground, partially trapping the dragon keeping it from following her. 

"What is with you and charging Giant Grimm. Do you ever pause to think how insane your actions are?" 

Weiss! 

Her partner was bent over in exhaustion even as she scolded her. 

"Weiss! Penny's okay!" Was probably the worst thing to say at that moment but it came out anyways. 

"What?" The white haired girl had a double take as she saw Penny giving more instructions to Pyrrha who kept clenching and unclenching her fists. 

"What the- Why- actually, I don't care. Let's just finish this thing for gods sake!" Weiss gave up thinking halfway through and glared at the dragon. 

"We just need to hold it off for Penny for another 30 seconds!"

Weiss nodded and the dust chambers of Myrtenaster spun as she stared down the Grimm as it ripped itself out the ice. 

Angered by its newest prey, it swung its claws towards the RW pair. 

"Weiss!" Ruby called out to her partner, who knew what she wanted. Glyphs appeared beneath them and they were flung out of the way before it was anywhere near them. 

It pushed off its claw and lunged at them with its maw wide open. 

"Not-" Weiss winced and breathed hard. "On my watch!" 

A large steel arm that looked like it was made of ice tried to hold back the beast, but it continued to come after them. 

Ruby grabbed Weiss and sped away. 

Then, a pillar of steel came crashing past them, impaling the dragon grimm through the side, making it roar in pain. It stumbled, trying to get up, but Pyrrha followed Penny's instructions well, impaling through the wing on the opposite side of where she struck. 

Relief quickly filled the three Beacon girls, only to vanish as the dragon Grimm, well, Ruby didn't know how to describe it other than saying it melted on its sides. Each puddle that landed quickly turned into an alpha sized Grimm that shot towards them. 

"Ruby! Weiss! Please retreat to us!" 

Quickly, the two jumped backwards, landing next to Pyrrha who was on Penny's left. 

"Sword Summoner Revision: Legacy Edge!" The jet pack spikes detached and transformed into green swords before vanishing as dozens of swords appeared and began to slice the dragon apart. They quickly deduced she was trying to limit how much Grimm spawn would appear, but unfortunately even the sliced pieces turned into small Grimm. 

"Ruby! Weiss! Pyrrha!" Penny called out to them again as she raced toward the Grimm with the rifles turning into sword hilts as green energy formed into a sharp pointed blade. 

The pillar that impaled the dragon was re-collapsed and turned into a shard storm that hailed down on the Grimm horde. 

"Penny Polendina entering Close Combat!" Penny stated, her jovial tone clear in her somewhat lower pitch of voice. The blades returned behind her and into the pack she wore before transforming into thicker armor that covered her upper body. She spun unhindered by the new weight around her body and bisected four Grimm at once. 

"Ice Flower!" Ruby and Weiss moved in unison to unleash their coordination attack. Ruby quickly shot the Alphas, freezing parts of their bodies and interrupting their movement. 

"Nice assist Friends!" Penny sliced the frozen Grimm before they could remove the ice. 

"Penny l don't think close combats a good idea!" Ruby realized as she saw an Ursa bat Penny's armor and throwing her aside only for her to kick off of a Grimm to slice the one that hit her. The metal shards tried to cut down the horde, but there were already too many of them. 

"I believe it is for the best-!" Penny jumped and let her swords return to the rifles and shot down. "That I keep their attention on me!" She landed and jumped into the horde with her swords. 

A small airship flew right over them. 

"Reinforcements are here!"

"Go AWAY!" They heard two shouts and a crash. 

Ren and Nora looked battered down, yet they fought with ferocity as they worked together to kill the Grimm. Ren's clean slices were accompanied with Nora's crushing swings. 

"Hey! Sun sent us over to help with the Dragon, but this works too!" Neptune called out to Weiss as he landed on an Alpha grimm with his weapon. His hair was messy and his clothes were torn, but he looked like the Hunter he was training to be. 

"Don't forget you're not alone!" Velvet called out as she killed the Grimm with graceful kicks. Dirt was all over her face and outfit, yet she looked undeterred and fierce. 

Sage and Scarlet of Team SSSN landed as well, both too tired to shout words of encouragement, but still nodding with smirks at the girls. The airship landed behind Pyrrha, its pilot waiting for the hunters and huntresses. 

Together, they fought to defeat the horde that spawned from the dragon's body. 

But they weren't the only ones who fought. 

_______________________________________________________________

"Cardin watch out-!" 

"Focus on the grimm damnit!" Cardin swung his mace fiercely as a handful of Grimm hung off his large frame. He grabbed one with his other hand and threw it to another Grimm. 

"No!" Russel shouted. "I mean behind you!" A griffon Grimm dove from the skies to swallow Cardin. 

"Eat this-!" The chambers in his mace prepared to fire off whatever dust was left within when someone shot out from the rooftops slamming into the beast and they fell to the ground. 

""Arc?!"" Team CRDL was surprised to see the young man they bullied in what feels like a lifetime ago. 

"We don't have time to talk! I saw a ton of the griffons drop people not too far from here! We need to go help the other hunters before it's too late!" Jaune stumbled off the Grimm and ran past a corner, using his shield to bash his way through. 

'That Arc. Even now he's thinking of others in a shitty situation.' Cardin gripped his mace tighter. 

"Come on! You heard the dweeb!" He called out and followed with his team who didn't doubt him for a second. 

'They aren't hesitating to follow...fuck! I really am pathetic!' He thought sardonically as he took his anger out on the Grimm. "Dove! Russel! Keep behind Arc!" The two sped up on his words and followed. "Sky! Keep in front of me and spin your halberd!" His sole teammate vaulted using his weapon right over him and followed his orders, cleaving Grimm that dove at him and ignored Sky. 

Dove and Russel easily caught up to Arc due to their own speed and held his shoulders to steady his run. Together, they pushed past the Grimm to where Arc said they were needed. 

When he and Sky reached Arc, civilians were pushing each other into the buildings for some sense of safety as a remaining few hunters and huntresses fought in their defense. Cardin noted that the leader who lost against Arc's team in the first round was at the front of the crowd was cleaving rows of Grimm with his claws extending by several feet. He didn't know why he took note of him, just that he did. Further down the street was a pissed off Goodwitch who was flinging away Grimm and creating tiny storms that annihilated the fuckers. 

But that was enough of that. "Sky! Hold the line at the bar!"

But then Cardin's eyes widened as he saw a Beowulf jump onto the girl with the sniper and reacted. "Hya!" He threw his mace, crushing the thing and rendering him weaponless. 

And honestly. 

He couldn't bring himself to give a FUCK. 

He reared his fists and slammed into a boarbatusk, crushing it's skull. 

He was tackled by Grimm in swarms, leaving him to punch and toss them off by twisting his body. 

"Cardin!" Arc called out to him and tossed his sheath. Without needing to hold a shield, he held his sword with two hands to swing faster and harder. 

With his temporary weapon, Cardin swung the sheathe and batted away the Grimm before turning it into a shield as a griffon slammed him into the ground. 

He cursed and moved his head back as the griffon aimed to hit his head only for a buzz saw to go through its neck. He looked over to see one of the other hunters back handing a Creep. "That's a thanks for May!" The saw bounced back to his arms as he fought back. 

"You'll need your weapon!" The hunter with the baton tossed back his mace as he stunned Grimm for the sniper, May apparently, to shoot. 

He looked over to Arc to hand back his shield only to see him shake his head and continue to fight with just his sword. "Keep my shield! The Grimm are focusing on you the most so you'll need it more!" As if to prove his words, Cardin instinctively switched it into a shield to block and bash Grimm. 

Cardin didn't have anymore time to think as the claw guy shouted. "They're beginning to clear up on this street! Just hold on a little longer!" 

His eyes burned with something fierce. "We can hold on as long as we need to with me here!" He used his remaining fire dust to send a wave of inferno through the Grimm as they rushed at him. 

"These fucking monsters need to go through me first!" 

_______________________________________________________________

Golden transparent clones tackled down Grimm after Grimm. Hopping from one to another. 

Originally Sun needed to sit still to use them, but now he fought alongside them as he defended his comrades. He may not know most of their names, but they all stood together.

They defended the Vale shelter with dozens of other hunters and huntresses, even some of the white fang who had long since removed their masks and pretending as if they weren't any part of this. Blake and Yang along with other fighters who could no longer fight were inside 'safe'. He sent the ship they used with some of the others to grab Ruby and Weiss, hopefully Pyrrha too, as the voice showed him the robot girl tricked out with more weapons, enough to kill the Wyvern. The amount of griffons have long since diminished for the air to be safe-ish, and really, they needed to stick together. 

"Big guy!" Sun jumped up to Yatsuhashi who used his fist to connect with his shoes to send him through a horde, where he used his staff to batter the beowolves. 

He skidded across the ground and flipped to land on a Creep at just the right angle that he skateboarded it across the street to spin his staff and fire it across several meters. 

"Damn it we aren't looking so hot here!" Coco grounded out as she swung her weapon in its purse form. Her ammo has long since emptied out. Her beret and sunglasses were gone as well. 

"No they've been letting up!" Sun noticed. It was weird. Like he can sense the Grimm on some sort of internal radar. "The Grimm outside the walls have been pushed back already! We just have the ones inside to deal with!" 

"How do you even know that!?" Reece shouted as she stabbed with her weapons, her ammo also gone. 

"I can sense it! Look just trust me! This nightmare's almost over!" 

Fox pounded an Ursa, launching it and blowing it up along with others. "I can't say if he's right about the walls, but the amount of Grimm in the city are lessened, and they're all converging on two spots-" he paused as he hammered down an alpha Beowulf. 

"Feel free to continue any moment now." Arslan commented as she snapped an ursa's head that was behind him with a kick. 

"It's somewhere out in the city where all the griffons vanished." He grunted as he hopped back to catch his breath. 

"And here." Said an unamused voice accompanied with a bang through the air. 

It was the apparently half robotic Ironwood. He was using one of the weapons from the mech troopers. 

"Great." Coco commented, throwing her bag which popped through an Ursa and through several beowulves. "Well at least there's a hundred of us to take down a thousand Grimm each." 

Nebula jumped over him to slice through an Alpha Ursa like butter. "I never realized how much I hated Grimm until tonight." 

"You and everyone else here." Dew grunted as she sliced off the neck of a Beowulf. 

"I can't say I don't feel the same." A girl in a red dress said as she sliced away with viciousness. 

"It takes a special kind of psychopath to like this situation." Her twin in White kicked and spun near her sister. Weirdly enough, the same feeling he had from Nebula and himself was inside them as well, but that wasn't really the point. 

"Do you have to banter like this." A man with a bat for a weapon scoffed as he stood near them and crushed grimm. 

The fact that they were all able snark was the sign things were better than earlier as far as he was concerned. 

Still, they still had a pretty massive horde to deal with. 

He jumped back to the shelters entrance where the Atlas soldiers who still had ammo continued to fire. "Watch my back!" He sat in his meditation pose skidding across the floor and summoned four more clones, making six currently out. 

His clones didn't necessarily obey normal physics anymore it seems, as he controlled them personally to toss Grimm like toys, and one of them was able to use his staff and extend it by several feet, piercing the grimms' armor. No longer just using them to create openings, his clones jumped into crowds of Grimm to kill them in droves. 

His eyebrows furrowed as he created another six. The further out the clones went, the less he needed to be careful on hitting his friends, so the amount of management he needed to do decreased. 

"Everyone just hold the line!" Ironwood called out. "The end of the horde is nearer than ever! Fight as long as you can! Reinforcements-!" 

"Reinforcements already here!" A boisterous voice said. It was Oobleck and Port and together they cut down the horde on the way to them. They were accompanied with more soldiers and hunters as they moved to defensive positions leading a small group of civilians inside to the shelters. 

Emboldened, they fought fiercer as they stuck together. Many had died, but they can at least make sure that everyone doesn't die. 

_______________________________________________________________

"We should be looking for Cinder!" 

"Shut it Em you saw the way she vanished! We need to look after ourselves now!" 

Mercury and Emerald retreated across the city in panic. Cinder disappearing as she did made what little confidence they had disappear. They were only sure the Grimm wouldn't attack when she was around, but without her....

"Well well well. Look at what we have here." A gruff voice stopped them in their tracks. 

'Shit.' They thought in sync for once. 

It was Qrow, scythe already brandished. 

"Thank gods another hunter! We're trying to get to the shelters to help with the defense, can you come help us?" Mercury tried to lie at first, not sure if the man recognized them. 

"Yeah, that ain't happening." He said simply before slicing one of Mercury's legs off in a blink of an eye. 

"Mercury!" Emerald immediately used her semblance on the man, letting him see them disappear as Mercury jumped back clutching her. 

"Not so fast!" A bone crushing blow landed on Emerald's side and knocked them to a building. 

"Ugghh." Emerald tried to shake off the blow and saw a blonde man who patted Qrow familiarly. 

'Oh shit.' They thought again, recognizing the other man as well. 

This was karma. 


End file.
